The Brides' Review - My Wedding Review 10/8/09

mms912000 Posted: Nov 09, 2009 01:45 PM+

mms912000 MEMBER SINCE: 6/08 TOTAL POSTS : 1 WEDDING DATE: Oct 08, 2009

Posted: Nov 09, 2009 01:45 PM

My Wedding Review 10/8/09

I'm going to try not to drag this on (although it may end up being lengthy). I used this board to get ideas and review vendors and get some advice when needed. So I will try to return the favor.

Wedding Invitations - A+
I did alot of research on this, reviewed many websites and in the end ordered from The Galleria in Farmingdale, NY. Jen was a sweetheart and so was her mother. They were very easy to work with and guided me through wording, etc. I wanted a fall theme, but an elegant style. They helped me pick one turned out gorgeous. They were reasonably priced and we received a discount for also using them for our tuxedos.

Wedding Attire - A-
Bridal Suite of Huntington
All of my girls, Mother and Mother in law got their dresses here. I looked at several other shops and stumbled into this one by mistake. Margie was very helpful and didn't care that I didn't have an appointment. She pulled many dresses for me to try on. I had no idea what type I wanted. So she let me try on all styles. I am very ful busted and wanted something that would compliment me. She was very honest with me about certain styles that might be disappointing after alterations and might not work for my body type. I liked a trumpet style, but because I'm short, she told me that the trumpet look may not be best. She was honest but not rude. I was glad that she told me up front about these things. I ended up ordering a gorgeous Casablanca dress, style 1849
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I did have an issue with my dress coming in in the wrong color. Although this was major, it all was fine in the end. I was not as stressed as I thought, because I was comfortable with the women at the shop that they would get me the right color in time. And since I had lost weight, they were able to order me a smaller size so I had less alterations. So in a way, it was a blessing in disguise. Nonetheless, a stressful blessing. I did not tell alot of people this in order to avoid comments and therefore stressing me more.

My veil was custom made by Ida at the Bridal Suite. She did an amazing job and it looked more beautiful that I'd ever imagined. I had a mantilla veil with custom lace to match my dress. It was cathedral length. I was entitled to a free headpiece, from a selection. So I got a pretty beaded comb. I did not wear a tiara or crown piece because the mantilla didn't need it.

BM's dresses were by Jasmine B2. They were chiffon and I let my sister pick a different style. Everything was great with the BMs order. Some girls got their alterations done privately and some at the shop, while some didn't need any. All in all, it worked out great.

I gave them an A- due to the problems that I had with my dress. Additionally, I needed a swatch to dye my shoes and get the groom tux and they told me that they didn't have one for me. My dress was champagne & ivory and so it wasn't your typical color when together. After my dress came in she almost reluctantly gave me this tiny piece of fabric. It was too small to divide up so I had my shoes dyed with it, but still needed to coordinate the tux. I had asked several times for another swatch and finally she gave me one, that was like a 10x10 square, so I was alitte disapointed by that.

Grooms Attire - A+
Ginos - Farmingdale NY
All the guys tux's looked great. Since my dress was delayed, I had to wait to get the groom attire finalized, but Jen was able to accomodate this quickly.

Shoes
Shoe Elegance - Lynbrook A
Found my shoe here because it was one of the only places that had a closed toe with a 3' heel. I didn't want open and couldn't find a closed toe with the height I wanted. I originally wanted a higher heel, but the 3' was comfortable.

Sandy's - A+
They were very accomodating. Most girls got their shoes here. They matched perfect. I also used them to dye my shoes, since I live in Lindenhurst and multiple trips to Lynbrook was just too much and not worth it. They charge $20 for dying if you don't buy your shoes there. Since I had the swatch problem and needed my shoes for the fitting, they let me leave my swatch to make the dye and bring my shoes in after my fitting for dying. A few girls had to do this and they were fine with it and there were no mixups.

Lingerie - Georgette's Hicksville A++++

I use Georgette's all the time and I really love them. They are very accomodating. I had to exchange my bra a few times because it didn't fit with the dress. I ended up not using the bra I bought, because it made my boobs too pushed up. So I did use the bra from the bridal suite, which was better. Sometimes a perfecting fitting bra isn't perfect for the dress. She tried to find me the perfect bra, but I was unable to use it in the end.

Marys Corsetieres- Woodbury C
I went here as recommended by the Bridal Suite. They do custom alterations right on the spot. I thought this would be great for me. WRONG!
Because of this, they take no appointments, which is just crazy in my opinion. I waited for almost 2 hours to not even get what I needed.
They didn't have a bra in my size for the dress. She looked at me cross-eyed and told me that she probably couldn't get one for me. I ended up buying a regular bra, that they said needed to be altered, only to find that when I went to Georgette's they had the same bra and didn't need to be altered. Lesson learned - Always stick with what you know! The women were nice, just not able to help me.

Ceremony - OLA Copiague A++++++++
Deacon Phil Mills is the best. He is so friendly and comforting, doesn't make you feel weird sitting at the altar. He made our ceremony short and sweet just like we requested. We said our own vows, and he was OK with this (he just needed to see them first) He's very personable and the only regret we had was not inviting him to our reception.

The church itself is small and quaint and where we both were christened.

Reception - The Riviera A+++++++++++++
I picked this place because it was small and rustic, just like we wanted for the fall season. Its on the water, which is gorgeous, has a great upstairs bridal suite with balcony and the grounds are great for photos.
Vicki was the main person that I dealt with and she was fabulous. She was so excited everytime she saw me. I was pretty organized in my planning, so she was in love with that. I had all my stuff ready for her when she needed it. Any items that I wanted on the day of, I brought to her labeled 2 days prior and she had everyting arranged the way I asked.
Food was great. Everyone raved about it. I unforturnately didn't eat much of it, but have been there for previous events and it is amazing the amount of food they provide and quality is great! I spent the majority of the reception on the dance floor so I didn't have much interaction with the Maitre D' John or the workers. My husband did however, and said they were great.

Florist - Burton's A+
I was recommended to go here based on their prices. Several people I know used them and they were all extremely satisfied. I met with Bobbi initially and she was very pleasant and had oddly enough been married at the Riviera herself. When I went back for my formal meeting 1 month prior to wedding, I met with John. I didnt' care for him and it was at this point, I realized I should of made sure to make an appointment with Bobbi. I showed John pictures that I liked and color choices. I know alot about flowers from my parents and he just seemed arrogant when I mentioned flower names and colors. Almost like he assumed I shouldn't know what I want and he would do what he wanted. Sorry pal. I called Bobbi and she told me to come in and meet with her again. When I called to confirm my meeting with her, i was informed she no longer worked there. ARRRR! I met with Mike the owner, who was great. He gave me everyting I asked for. I had purchased pumpkin style baskets for the centerpieces and he filled them no problem. John had previously told me I needed to purchase the inserts for the baskets! He showed me a sample centerpiece and bridesmaid bouquet the day before and they were incredible. Additionally, I had purchased 6 dozen pink roses for my favors ( I donated to breast cancer foundation). He gave them to me for $50 !!! I thought that was great. THe day of they arrived on time and the flowers were gorgeous! I had the stems unwrapped and the flowers lasted all day - not one died. The flowergirl had a silk hydrangea pomander (kissing ball). Beware that if you get a real pomander they tend to fall apart - I witnessed this first hand at my sister in laws wedding.

Photography - Patken A
We went with Vinnie as recommended by Doug. Doug told me that unless we were willing to drop to the ground on command to take non-traditional pictures than he wasn't for us. Additionally, he was an extra fee and didn't not stay at the entire affair.

Vinnie was great. He arrived on time and took alot of photos. I also had the boudoir pictures, which I love. He made me feel very comfortable. He was definitely unobtrusive at the reception which I loved. He got all the family photos and group shots before cocktail hour so we were able to mingle with the guests. However, I didn't get to eat cocktail hour because I was chatting with everyone.

We didn't use them for video primarily because Tina wasn't very friendly to us - even though we had already booked our photos with them.

I received my proofs 1 month later. They compiled them very nicely in albums. Our package only included 30 album photos, because 1 - they told us we didn't need much more than that and 2 - because if we wanted more it would be cheaper afterwards. Tina is the administrative person there, not very friendly. She told us of a promotion that was going on 80 album photos for $800 oh and you have to decide yes or no pretty much on the spot. However, she was nice enough to let us decide by 6 pm - we picked up our pics about 5 pm. I quickly went through them and we obviously were picking more than 30. I called them to get the 80 pics and didnt' realize it needed to be paid in full. I told her I would bring her a check over the weekend, so she was accomodating in this regard.

After reviewing the photos, which are great, I realized there were a few photos I didn't have. I don't have a full length self portrait of myself in my dress or with my husband. So that's disappointing to me. Most of the photos are headshots/closeups, so you don't see the full dress.

OTher than this, Vinnie took all the photos I had on my list and I never had to give him my list. He did it right the first time. When I double checked my list, he had taken everything. ( I didn't have requests for bride & groom pics because I thought this would be a given) Never assume that they will capture all that you want, even if you're the bride.

Makeup
Makeup Studio Babylon NY A+++++
I used Donna - who is awesome. She did an amazing job with our makeup and I'm so glad I went with her. She did my makeup for my sisterin laws wedding and I knew that she would be great. I went to her several times prior to my wedding date for mini-facials and to ensure that my skin would look great the day of. The one lesson I learned from her that I recommend to everyone now is WITCH HAZEL is the best natural astringent. I use it day and night and my skin has been great!

DJ
High Power Production
DJ Sal Scott
Sal is a close friend and he DJ's at alot of local bars/clubs on long island. Carriage House, Lilly Flanagans, etc. I knew I was going to ask him because he's awesome at what he does. We had a fantastic reception because of Sal. He played great music that kept the crowd going. I never left the dancefloor!

MC - Mystic
Great MC and did an excellent job. He was having just as much fun as my guests!

Honeymoon
Oyster Bay Travel - A+++
Jim Marino is the best. He's an old friend and took care of us well. My sister in law had also booked their honeymoon with him and raved also.

Jewelry
Bride wedding band - Lee Nach jewelers NYC - A++++

Lee was great to deal with. I got exactly what I wanted and didn't spend too much time debating it. He was very accomodating to us.

Pearl & Diamond earrings - Macys

Groom Wedding band - Irish Elegance Stony Brook - A+++
Groom wanted a celtic ring. He was more difficult than me ;) We went back several times and finally he made a decision and the ring came out beautiful and arrived quickly.

Gifts
Bridesmaid
Makeup Bags by Chamberry Cherry found on Etsy.com - A++++++++
This was a fun experience. I custom picked fabrics and Danita made the bags. They came out awesome. I had a flowergirl tote made custom fabrics too - its was the sweetest thing I'd seen! I highly recommend her if you're looking for any type of handmade bag.

Earrings
Elliot Dinori earrings bought at Macys. Quick and painless ;)

Rehearsal Dinner
Fannellis - Lindenhurst A+
Fabulous restaurant with separate private catering room. We had a sit-down dinner and they staff was very friendly.

DIY projects
Table Numbers
I bought wood frames from Michaels and spray painted them. Mounted color card stock for frame. Purchased wood numbers from Rocky Mountain vendor found on Etsy.com. Spray painted the numbers and mounted to card stock. Simple and easy project - inexpensive.

Pictures of bride and groom at each table. I bought frames from the dollar store and had picked out pictures of myself and husband for the specific ages to go with each table number. THis was a nice personal touch.

Wedding Program
My brother in law helped me with this project. I created a booklet style program that I wrote a blurb about each bridesmaid and husband did the same for groomsmen. Printed on my own with paper purchased from Staples. Borrowed a paper cutter and fastened together with eyelets.

Menu
Another project my Brother in Law helped me with. I printed on cardstock purchased at staples.

I had a great wedding day and hope that any of this is helpful in someway.